A man in a wheelchair stands up and takes his first step in many years. Attached to his legs and waist is a robotic exoskeleton called the ReWalk which helps him to stand, sit, walk and even climb stairs. One person, Claire Lomas, even completed the London marathon in one. Argo Medical Technologies, which makes the ReWalk suit, just released a new version for use in rehabilitation centers in the U.S.

Over 100 people are already walking around Europe and Israel in a ReWalk Personal and, pending FDA approval, the suit will be available for personal use in the U.S. in the second half of 2013. ReWalk Rehabilitation is already helping patients in 16 rehabilitation centers across the United States.

Israeli electrical engineer Dr. Amit Goffer designed the ReWalk suit. He became a quadriplegic following an accident in 1997. Goffer devoted 10 years to developing a device that would help a paraplegic to walk again.

The reason I brought this up is because since I've followed this device's development, I recognized that it was "our" Stevens that was one of a short list of only a dozen patients in the original clinical trials back in 2010. It was great to hear that something good was happening in his life.